Tag: New year

AH, LIFE’S LITTLE MOMENTS.

With little man keeping us on our toes, right now our days are filled with little day to day treasures. I wish I could bottle these precious memories all up!

I’m sure you will agree that the years fly by faster and faster these days. Some of those great everyday moments are lost as our minds are filled with tasks on that never ending to-do list.

In an effort to combat the memory loss I have made a memory jar that I intend to stash all “The Best Bits” into throughout the year. Such a simple craft project! I used a large mason jar and decorated it with some stickers from my craft supply stash. Easy peasy. And, I squeezed it easily into naptime today as it only took me about 5 minutes from start to finish.

I can’t wait to read through the moments at the end of the year. I think this will be a new family tradition in our home.

How do you keep the memories alive in your family?

HELLO TWENTY SEVENTEEN!

Doesn’t the first day of the year just make you feel like anything is possible? You’re looking at a squeaky clean slate with 365 fresh new days ahead of you to make your mark on.

I am much more of a bucket list gal than a resolution lady. I like to sit down, usually on New Year’s Eve with a friend and a nice coffee shop mug of deliciousness, and write a list of goals and things to accomplish over the next twelve months. The scope of the list has evolved as I’ve grown up. In my early twenties the points would be more geared to figuring out this whole being-an-adult business. When I was more established in my mid twenties it was more about making the most of life

This month I turn the big 3-0 and I am in a much different personal place than any other year so far. My husband and I welcomed our first born this past spring so 2016 has been full of figuring out this “being-a-parent” world. So far it has been the greatest adventure and I absolutely cannot wait to see where this journey takes us. That being said, I have written my list in three categories this year to compliment where I am in life right now.

FINANCIAL

Some of us think of our finances daily and others of us like to avoid it at all costs. No matter what camp you fall under the start of a new year is a good time to evaluate your current financial situation and look at where you would like to be this time next year. Would you like to pay off some debt? Increase your savings? Buy a house? Make a goal and then more importantly MAKE A PLAN! How will you be successful in achieving this? The saying goes “If you fail to plan then you plan to fail” and when it comes to finances this couldn’t be more true. I have found that breaking the big goal down into achievable monthly goals is a great way to keep myself on track. If you don’t know how to get to where you want to end up then meeting with a financial advisor is an excellent place to start.

I started 2016 credit card debt FREE and one my financial goals was to continue to use my card for the travel points but to pay off purchases immediately and avoid paying any interest. I succeeded! I plan to continue with this goal for the coming year.

FAMILY

What would you love to achieve or experience as a family or a couple? We have been working hard at renovating our home so we can move this coming year. We’ve had some wonderful times here at this house but we have outgrown it and we are ready to move on. A family goal we have this year is to move into a home that our children can grow in. We also plan to take a family trip to England to visit my 93 year old grandmother so that she can meet her great grandson.

PERSONAL

Self development is important for our evolution as individuals. Challenge yourself to grow! What skill have you wanted to learn? What have you been longing to experience? Choose goals that you can get passionate about and plan to make them happen.

Some of my personal goals over the last few years have included: Host Thanksgiving Dinner, learn to make bread, try skiing, and travel to the longest list of places. I find that my list in this category is long and I know that I won’t be able to accomplish all of them. Again, the goals you are really serious about need to have a get-it-done plan attached to them or the year will pass by and they won’t have happened. For me, this category usually turns into more of an “I would love to” instead of a this is all going to happen” list. But hey, don’t dream too small! Firstly, you can always carry over incomplete items to the following year, and secondly, you never know when an opportunity may arise. Visiting New York City appeared on my list for years and I was unable to make it happen because of the finances and not enough annual vacation time from work. In 2015 I had a five day weekend booked for July and my friend and I had planned to take a road trip to Mount Rushmore (another reoccurring bucket list item). A couple of weeks before we were set to depart we debated finding a last minute travel deal to somewhere random and have an unplanned adventure instead. We found an insanely good flight and hotel deal in New York, snapped it up, and THEN found tickets to the Taylor Swift 1989 tour happening while we were there. It was the most amazing trip and it was so unexpected. #lifemade

How do you prepare for the year ahead? Do you make resolutions or goals, or do you just wing it?